Big firms shown up as bad payers

By Susan Clark

Large hotels and catering companies are among the worst offenders in settling their bills late, a survey by Experian, the global information service company, has revealed.

The biggest firms take on average 73 days to pay their suppliers, only two days fewer than the slowest-paying section of industry, construction.

"Some companies do take advantage of their size," said Peter Brooker, executive director of Experian, which surveyed the sales ledgers of 250,000 actively trading companies.

"There is often a huge inequality in the relationship between supplier and customer, so the majority of small and even medium-sized companies will be unwilling to charge interest for fear of losing future business," he added.

Overall, hospitality stands in 10th position among the worst payers. Smaller hospitality firms take on average 57 days to pay, medium ones take 59 days, while the larger companies take on average 73 days to settle their accounts.

"Persistent late payers cause immense damage to their suppliers, the job prospects of people in those companies and to the economy in general," warned Brooker.